The present invention relates to cooling electronic components and more particularly to an air deflection system for directing cooling air over an electronic components card.
Electronic components can be arranged on boards also known as cards which can be added or removed from the electronic device as needed. The electronic components are designed to operate within specific temperature ranges specified by the manufacturer. However, the electronic components create heat during operation which can cause the operational temperature ranges to be exceeded. Excessive heat build up can damage the electronic components and/or reduce their operational lifespan. The electronic components are cooled by moving the heat away. Air is often used for cooling the electronic components. The air is moved over the electronic components removing excess heat by convention.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is common in the electronics industry to mount the electronic components 11 on printed circuit boards, also known as cards shown at 10. The cards 10 are plugged into card shelf assemblies, one of which is shown generally at 12, which form electronic devices including but not limited to cellular communication switching devices. The cards 10 can include card guides 14 extending along a card edge or along opposite card edges which are used to support the card in the shelf assembly 12 and to guide the card into mating connectors in a backplane 16 in the shelf assembly.
The shelf assembly 12 includes fans 18 for moving air shown at 19 over the cards 10 for cooling the electronic components 11. However, the air 19 can be blocked or impeded by the arrangement of the cards 10 in the shelf assembly 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the cards 10 can also include extrusions 20 which can cause turbulence by obstructing the cooling air 19 reducing the cooling effects of the airflow. A zone of reduced airflow over the card 10 can cause localized overheating on the card as shown at 22. For example, air turbulence is often created around the front face plate 23 of the card 10 which can cause the electronic components 11 in that area to overheat. Also, larger electronic components can create air turbulence and air obstructions which reduces the cooling of the other electronic components. It is desirable to improve the airflow over electronic component cards for cooling the electronic components.